Monday, October 27, 2008

I am having trouble. I think it's time for a new computer.I have been trying to upload some pictures all night to no avail. Damn! Plus, my computer crashes at will...whether or not I am in the middle of something. It doesn't care anymore. I still care, I am sad.

The weekend was amazing. We made so many great memories of wonderful times with friends. The island is gorgeous, I don't know if I totally captured the weekend in photos, but I tried...Lunch on Saturday at the Rose and Crown Pub.Some of my boys... Kevin, Andy and Scott.Saturday afternoon...oops, I have camera shadow in my face. It's still a goodish pic.It was so windy, but somehow the wedding went on and it was just beautiful. The wedding was very small, only about 70 guests as you can see by this picture from the third floor balcony, after the ceremony, before they broke it down. (they broke it down very quickly, the next time I looked, the chairs were gone).Breakfast on Sunday at the Fog Island Cafe.Kevin, Andy and Eric just after our breakfast.This is all just a taste of Nantucket, I have a bunch of great pictures to share, but I need some down time first.It's really an incredible little island with a distinctive look in all the architecture. Thanks for indulging me. I will post more to follow. I need sleep now.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Tomorrow is the last day for me to get last minute things done before Nantucket, and boy do I have a whole lot of last minute things. I have to deliver a special order, pack and mail an etsy order, go to the office for a bit, try to find a black slip, dye my hair, get dog food, get Rusty packed and ready to spend the weekend at Jape and Suzanne's house, and a slew of other things. I hope poor Raven can deal with him and his over activeness without going crazy.

Rusty has also been an issue this week. He had to go to the hospital on Tuesday for eating plastic and having diarrhea for 4 days. He is feeling 100% better now, but he is still on medication twice a day until it runs out.

I plan on taking lots of pictures of Nantucket. We are going there for a wedding, and I have never been there, so I am very excited. We also booked our spot on the last ferry boat of the day to the island, which is a bit terrifying to me.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Seventeen years ago on this date, I was dressed like a princess. Scott and I made people go to church and then had a party complete with a three tier cake.

We got married at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury street. The church completely dwarfed our small amount of guests, but we liked it that way. Then we had our reception in the Dome Ballroom at the Lenox hotel on Boylston Street, where we stayed the night in the honeymoon suite on the 11th floor.

Hmmm, we don't look that cute anymore.My scanner is not working, and since we got married before digital cameras were widely used, we only have the proofs. I had to take pictures of the pictures, which didn't come out so good, but you get the idea.Happy Anniversary Scott!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Nancy Bacevich lost her son Lt. Andy Bacevich, in Iraq on Mother's day 2007.

During that incredibly hard time, she received comfort and support from the sisters of Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Wrentham. The Abbey is the home to the Trappistine Quality Candy factory. The sisters make handmade chocolates and fudge along with other sweets in the Abbey kitchen which is very outdated and needs to be renovated. Click here to read Mother Agnes’ request for assistance.

This is where Nancy knew she could make a difference for them, as they did for her.

Taken directly from Abbey Art Auction website:

From Nancy Bacevich…

When my son, Lt. Andy Bacevich, died in Iraq in 2007, our family was surrounded by angels who delivered compassion and consolation.

One of these groups was the sisters at Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Wrentham. They now need our help with fundraising to replace their decrepit kitchen. Candy-making is their primary means of support, so a functional, commercial area is vital to their delicious, hand-made product.

Therefore, I want to hold an art auction on the behalf of the nuns, to be held on October 18, 2008 at the Blessed Sacrament Auditorium in Walpole. Our art group is inviting any artists to join us in our effort to support the abbey.

-Nancy Bacevich

Nancy has put together a huge art auction to benefit the sisters of Mount Saint Mary's Abbey. Please check out Abbey Art Auction website. The auction will be held at the Blessed Sacrament School Auditorium, in Walpole tonight from 6pm-9:30pm. Over 54 artists have donated artwork and over 45 businesses have donated as well.

I too am donating, but not for the auction itself. I have made a brooch for Nancy to remember the event. It is in the form of the logo for the art auction that she herself designed.

Nancy's logo for the art auction.

My interpretation in silver, with a red crystal dangle for the hanging light.

I hope that she can think of this brooch as a gift from all of the artists who donated their artwork for the auction.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Meet Dave, the Gallery 9 mascot and general watch dog of the shop. A 6 year old, 12 pound Italian Greyhound rescued from the Italian Greyhound Rescue by my sister Julie It's tough to be sleeping all day and then have to work as a model. Just ask him, he will most likely yawn at you and act unaffected by your attention.I saved my two favorite photos for last....mmmmm just like ice cream!And if I do say so myself, I totally captured the true Dave in this picture...

Rusty has been doing really good with the attention training. He is very focused for hotdogs, not as much for cheese.Today, we were out training with all manner of noise and distraction just outside the fence (the neighbors are doing something big) there was even a guy on the roof! Rusty kept his attention on me and my stinky hotdog fingers. Success!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Recently I went into production mode making some pendants, and I thought I would document the steps.

I am making some pierced square framed pendants in different designs, I hope you enjoy the process.

First, I cut sections of 20 gauge sterling silver sheet into the finished size I desire. Here I am making 5/8" square shapes, so that is what size I saw out of the sheet.File and sand all the edges and make the corners rounded and smooth.Then I use dividers to locate the area that I will not touch. This is the square part that frames the design. The dividers are set to 1/8" for a nice border. The center design will ultimately be 3/8" square.With the outline in place, it is time to scratch in a design making sure that each side has areas that touch the square, this way the center will be very secure and there is no fear of over cutting or weakness.With my designs scratched into the square, I make divots in the metal where I need to drill holes to insert the saw blade. Making those little divots is very important because if you don't, the drill will just skate across the metal and leave you with a whole lot of sanding and filing to get the scratch marks out.Now insert the blade into one of the drill holes and start sawing out the design, being careful not to cut through the sections that will hold the inner design inside the frame of metal.Once you have all your designs cut out, sand the surface and use needle files to clean up the inside cuts.This picture has some 1" pendants in this photo, too. But the 5/8" pendants are what we are making right now.

After you have cleaned up the pendants with needle files and sandpaper, it is time to solder on some sort of bail. Here I have soldered on a simple oval jumpring bail right on the backside so it is not visible from the front.After pickling in a mild acid solution to get rid of the firescale and oxidation that soldering produces, the pendants get sanded once again and then have a time in the tumbler to harden and shine up.Here they are finished.And here are some of them complete with chains and ready to wear.I hope you enjoyed!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I had a great time at the market today. We had fantastic weather, and although there were more lookyloos than customers, I'd say all in all the day turned out to be a huge success.Here is a shot of our row (bostonhandmade etsy team) about an hour and a half before the market opened. The light is coming in sideways! The sun hasn't even fully come up yet.I shared a booth with Jessica of ReclaimedToYou, she was an excellent booth mate, and our booth is the first in the line just to the left of the BostonHandmade banner.

Here is the show just getting started...different vantage point as the crowds were slow early on, I got to mosey around some.

Jessica's space is to the left, and mine is straight on. I wish I got a better picture of our booth together, I think it looked great! My hanging hands ring display was really a great addition to my general set up, it gave a lot of needed height. It was also nice to have people browse my rings without hunching over.

A close up of my table.What a tremendous day! We may be invited again to show as a group next year, I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Friday, October 10, 2008

I dug up my Delicas.I love these tiny seed beads so much, but my focus has been elsewhere. These wee little beads have been nestled in a storage bin for far too long and I am afraid I will never again give them the attention they deserve. They deserve attention!These are such a wonderful subject for up close photos. So colorful and tiny!My friend Erin from BeadsBeadingBeaded creates the most fabulous loomed bracelets and other jewelry goodies using these incredibly small beads. I love her designs, she has a talent to take these small treasures and loom them into fabulous works of wearable art.Here is a necklace that she made, don't know if it is made on a loom or freehand, but it is really magnificent.And another pic of my pretty neglected beads.I plan on listing the colors with the ordering numbers to sell them off. They did me well when I needed them to, but now it's time for them to move on.Ahhh, such pretties! I will miss them so!

Friday, October 03, 2008

Pierced and riveted sterling flower earrings and pendant with copper rivets.Ring to match.A sterling silver Aloha pendant.To match these rings, which aren't new but they match so I had to post a picture.Flowers always make me happy, and freehand flowers are the best!